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Police work the scene of a crash with multiple fatalities and involving at least four vehicles on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, at the intersection of East Harmony Road and East Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

A stolen truck involved in a crash with multiple fatalities and at least four vehicles sits against the corner of a gas station on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, at the intersection of East Harmony Road and East Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Dallas Schleining, right, looks on with his son Duke, 5, and his father Jim, at Dallas' truck that was stolen and involved in a crash with multiple fatalities, and then crashed into the corner of a gas station on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, at the intersection of East Harmony Road and East Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Dallas Schleining, left, talks on the phone while walking with his son Duke, 5, and his father Jim, past Dallas' truck that was stolen and involved in a crash with multiple fatalities, and then crashed into the corner of a gas station on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, at the intersection of East Harmony Road and East Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Police work the scene of a crash with multiple fatalities and involving at least four vehicles on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, at the intersection of East Harmony Road and East Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

People look onto the scene of a crash with multiple fatalities and involving at least four vehicles on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, at the intersection of East Harmony Road and East Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A now 20-year-old man was sentenced to prison Friday for causing the car crash that killed a father and daughter on Thanksgiving last year — "an execution on Harmony Road," as the judge in the case described it.

A stolen truck involved in a crash with multiple fatalities and at least four vehicles sits against the corner of a gas station on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, at the intersection of East Harmony Road and East Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins, Colo.(Photo: Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan)

A few hours later, witnesses reported a suspicious truck parked near Caribou and Arctic Fox drives. They said glass was in the truck bed, and there were several firearms in the cab with a man asleep inside, testified Officer Drew Jurkofsky of Fort Collins Police Services.

Officers created a perimeter and surrounded the vehicle, blocking the truck in with the department's BearCat, Jurkofsky said. Officers' body camera footage played in court shows Orozco refusing to comply with commands, ramming the BearCat and speeding off. An officer can be heard yelling "let him go."

At about the same time Orozco fled, security camera footage from Safeway showed the victims entering the store to pick up groceries for Thanksgiving dinner, Jurkofsky said.

Several cameras on traffic lights caught Orozco driving the stolen truck through red lights at an average speed of 92 mph, Jurkofsky said. Orozco came close to crashing into several other vehicles, witnesses told investigators, and knocked off the side mirror of one vehicle when he passed too close in the shoulder.

Then, from a security camera at the 7-Eleven at the corner of Harmony Road and Boardwalk Drive, Orozco can be seen speeding and ramming into the Nees' vehicle, which was stopped at a red light, from behind, and then crashing into the gas station.

Orozco was going 90 mph when he hit the victims' car, killing them on impact, Jurkofsky said.

"It didn't appear there was any concern for others' well-being," Jurkofsky said.

Marcos Orozco(Photo: Courtesy of Larimer County Sheriff's Office)

Orozco did not have any alcohol in his system, but a blood draw came back positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine, Jurkofsky said.

Blanco said she believed Orozco was remorseful but he must be held responsible for the poor decisions he made that took the lives of two people who were extremely valuable to the community.

Nicole Nees and John "Rick" Nees both dedicated their lives to helping others, family members said in statements to the court. Nicole was a counselor and helped people with trauma, drug addiction or difficult upbringings — much like Orozco — Murray said.

John Nees, who was referred to by his family as Rick, was a beloved math teacher in Iowa. His brother, Louis Nees, described him as kind, caring and selfless with a great sense of humor. Louis Nees said Orozco acted selfishly the day he killed his brother and niece, and other family members echoed that in their statements.

"There was absolutely no regard for human life," said Riki Hendrix, daughter and sister to the victims.

Julianna Nees, Nicole's mother, said her daughter was "a pillar in our community" and that Orozco "stole Nicole in the prime of her life."

Nicole's husband, Victor Dzirasa, said if he were to talk about the emotional damage this has done to their family, "we'll be here all day," and instead used his statement to argue for the maximum sentence of 48 years to protect the community and deter other people from committing similar crimes.

Orozco's defense attorney Tina Tussay-Cooper said her client's behavior can be explained, not justified, by his difficult upbringing, which included physical and emotional abuse and drug use.

Orozco's father introduced him to methamphetamine and taught his son how to sell drugs. After Orozco's father was deported when he was arrested on drug charges, Orozco found support in a coworker who also consumed drugs.

That man also had Orozco steal cars so they could be sold, Tussay-Cooper said. When he was paid, it was in drugs, further encouraging Orozco's addiction, she said.

The same man posted Orozco's bond all three times he was arrested in 2018 prior to the crash. Tussay-Cooper said Orozco, trying to make money to support his mother and siblings, felt trapped working for this man who wasn't paying him, but he couldn't get out.

In a video played by the defense, Orozco's family and friends describe him as a responsible, hard-working, caring and generous man who got in with the wrong crowd and deserves a second chance.

"I'm sorry for what I've done," Orozco said in court Friday. "I can't imagine the pain I caused."

He said he hopes to live a better life "to honor the two people who died because of my actions."

Orozco was also sentenced in three separate cases, each for one charge of motor vehicle theft. Each of those two- to three-year sentences will run concurrent to the other prison sentences. He was also ordered to pay a collective more than $60,000 in restitution for the fatal Thanksgiving Day crash and to a family whose home he crashed a stolen car into earlier in 2018.

Sady Swanson covers crime, courts, public safety and more throughout Northern Colorado. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan.